Tribeca takes films online: Festival lines up cyberspace screenings

Tribeca Online Film Festival, the cyberspace extension of the Tribeca Film Festival, has lined up a slate of offerings including screenings of four fest features.

Each film, to be streamed soon after its fest premiere, will be available free during limited time windows and for a limited number of viewers.

The quartet of world premiere features on tap for the initiative are Macdara Vallely's narrative film "Babygirl," about a Bronx teen's attempt to expose her mom's boyfriend as creep, and three docs: Fredric Golding's "On the Mat," about high school wrestling; Petter Ringbom's "The Russian Winter," centering on musician John Forte's Russian concert tour; and Jerry Rothwell's "Town of Runners," chronicling a pair of Ethiopian teens hoping to be the latest long-distance running stars to come out of their hometown.

Five shorts also will be on offer to online auds, including Neil LaBute's "BFF" and Edward Burns' "Doggy Bags."

Festival events also will be recorded and posted, including the Universal Studios anniversary panel with Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep and Judd Apatow.

Online features and shorts will be eligible for kudos to be voted on by virtual festgoers.